Mercedes Jones
Mercedes Jones is a fictional character in the TV series Glee. She is an African-American woman and prides herself on being one (telling herself and sometimes others she is a strong black woman). She is a member of New Directions. She is portrayed by Amber Riley. Mercedes has called herself many things, like in early Season 1, she interrupted a song she was doing backup vocals on that she 'was Beyonce, she ain't no Kelly Rowland.' She is the only glee character to not have a boyfriend for longer than one episode. Biography Mercedes Jones can best be described as a proud african-american girl. She likes to sing and is best friends with Kurt. Season One In "Pilot", Mercedes auditions for the Glee club with the song, "Respect". Right after the auditions, Mercedes, ']]along with Rachel, Artie, Kurt and Tina, sing "Sit Down, You're Rocking The Boat" but they are disappointed because of the lack of a strong lead solo. Later on, when the Glee club recruited a new male member, she "divas out" and says that she "is Beyoncé and ain't no Kelly Rowland!" after singing back-up in "You're The One That I Want". However, she began singing in a again manner after admitting they were actually starting to sound good. She goes to see Vocal Adrenaline with the rest of the Glee club and is shocked at how talented they are when they sang, "Rehab". After Will decides to quit directing the Glee club because his wife is pregnant, Mercedes is given the job of providing her fellow Glee club members with stylish clothing when they sing, "Don't Stop Believin'". To their surprise, Will decides to direct Glee club again after a talk from Emma. In "Showmance", she is seen arguing with Rachel after she almost kicks her and complaining in Will's choice of song. Later on, she also sings a solo in "Gold Digger". Kurt Hummel tells her that she looks like a technicolor ']] zebra. She is seen doing back-up in "Push It" and "Take a Bow". In "Acafellas", she is worried that she won't ever get a boyfriend so she starts hanging out Kurt. Mercedes hoping that eventually lead to a relationship. Mercedes thinks that Kurt returns her feelings and they hold hands while going to see Vocal Adrenaline to hire their choreographer. Fellow glee club members Tina Cohen-Chang and Rachel Berry have a "gayvention" telling Mercedes that they didn't want her to get hurt by feelings that Kurt ']]couldn't return, Mercedes stood up for him saying that just because he dressed nice didn't mean he was gay (they said that he was too 'lady' beautiful). During the Glee club car wash, Mercedes asked Kurt to make it official, but he told her that he was in love with someone else and looked at Finn, but Mercedes thought he was looking at Rachel so she broke his window and then sung Bust Your Windows. She went to Kurt at the end of the episode when he was messing with his locker and they both apologized before Kurt told her that he was gay and that she was the first person he had ever told. In the next episode Preggers, she is seen when Rachel storms out of the room after Will gives Tina a solo that she wanted. She is seen in the background for the rest of the episode. In The Rhodes Not Taken, when April Rhodes is trying to get the other Glee club members on her side, she teaches Mercedes and Tina how to shoplift. They come to Mr. Schue with new clothes and accessories saying that they love April. She also believes that Quinn is lactose intolerant before Puck tells everyone that she is pregnant. She has a short solo at the end of Somebody to Love. In Vitamin D, she is seen giving Tina a pedicure and laughing at a joke Brittany tells. She takes Vitamin D decongestants along with all the other girls to enhance their performance and she sings Halo/Walking on Sunshine. She apologizes to Mr. Schue for taking the drugs. In Throwdown, Sue wants her in her group and refers to her as Aretha. When everyone else is nervous, she say ']] that she is excited because she saw Sue's Corner last night and saw her give a speech about how much she loves minorities. Sue gives Mercedes the lead in Hate on Me. She sings Ride Wit Me along with the rest of the group, but then says that they need to go and meet Sue. After Sue and Will get into a huge fight in front of all the kids, Mercedes and the rest of them storm out. Mercedes sings back-up vocals in Keep Holding On. In Mash-Up, she is seen being afraid of being hit by a slushie. She mocks Mr. Schue's choice of song Bust a Move because it is so old. After Kurt is hit by a slushie, Mercedes takes him to the washroom to clean his skin. After none of them can come up with a mash-up, they all learn that Mr. Schue has never been hit by a slushie and they hit him with all of theirs. In Wheels, after Will decides they should sing Defying Gravity at sectionals, Mercedes thinks they should sing something more black, Will says that they will find something for her. When her best friend Kurt competes with Rachel, she is supportive of him and winces sympathetically at him when he intentionally messes up a high F. In Ballad, Mercedes is partnered up with Puck for the ballad they need to perform. She talks to Tina on the phone about how everyone is so rattled up about Quinn and Finn's baby that they can't express any emotions of their own in the ballads. So they all decide to perform one ballad for Quinn and Finn. She tells Puck about their idea and he is upset. When Mercedes asks what his problem is, Puck tells her that Finn is not the father, he is. Mercedes tells him that he should forget about it because Quinn chose Finn and he had no business screwing up her life more than he already had. She went to get Kurt and Finn and took them to the choir room. Mercedes performed lead vocals in Lean on Me along with Artie. In Hairography, she watches the amazing Jane Adams girls perform Bootylicious. Will then tells the club that they need to perform a number with long hair using hairography. Mercedes and Artie perform the leads in the hairography number Hair/Crazy in Love performing with wigs. Also when they hear the deaf school perform Imagine, Mercedes starts to sing, then Artie then the rest of the Glee club. She performs back-up vocals in True Colors. In Mattress, her and the rest of Glee club don't want their picture in the yearbook, however Rachel insures that two of them get a picture so Mercedes votes for Rachel to be one of the two people. When Rachel asks her to be the second person, she tells her that she can't because she is "starting Kwanzaa early this year". Then, Rachel gets them all cast in a Mattress commercial. Mercedes says that she won't talk to any of them after she gets her record deal and becomes famous. She performs Jump in the commercial. After Quinn gets all of the Glee club a picture in the yearbook, while the pictures are taken Mercedes sings Smile along with Rachel and Finn. In Sectionals, the group is worried upon discovering that due to their Mattress commercial, Will is ']]unable to take them to sectionals. Instead they get Emma Pillsbury to take command of the group, despite having no musical training. Without Will, the kids are forced to come up with their set list, and of course Rachel volunteers to take the song. Mercedes however, fed up with Rachel always having to be the "star" demands her right to be heard. With Emma backing her up, Mercedes sings And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going, which causes a standing ovation from all the others, even Rachel, who says Mercedes should indeed sing the ballad. Meanwhile its discovered that despite promising otherwise to Puck, Mercedes has told all the other Glee kids that Puck is the true father of Quinn's baby. The only one not told is Rachel, who everyone is afraid will tell Finn the truth (which she does, upon figuring it out herself). Upon reaching Sectionals, its discovered that the opposing schools have stolen their set lists, which Sue Sylvester has passed on in order to destroy the group. Rachel takes command and asks Mercedes to choose a different ballad to sing. Mercedes however concedes to not having prepared another song and asks that Rachel perform instead. With Finn back as well, the group comes together to win Sectionals and get Will back. In Hell-O, after Sectionals, Mercedes along with the rest of the Glee feel elated at their victory, and think that their social status would be elevated. This fantasy is quickly dashed, as she, Rachel and Kurt all receive slushies to the face. At Glee rehearsal, the group is given the assignment of singing songs involving the word "Hello". When the group later discovers that Rachel is dating the male lead of their rivals Vocal Adrenaline, Jesse St. James it is Mercedes, Kurt, Tina and Artie who confront her on it, with Mercedes trying to tactfully explain that Rachel should not date the enemy. It is Kurt however, who viciously promises to kick Rachel out of Glee if she doesn't end things with him. Later in The Power of Madonna, when Will grows concerned about how the boys are treating the girls, he suggests that all of them perform Madonna numbers to promote strength the girl's sense of self-worth. Kurt is ecstatic along with the girls to perform Madonna's iconic works, and asks to be allowed to do a multimedia project with Mercedes in honor of Madonna. While working on their project, both witness Sue Sylvester insulting Will's hair again, and are surprised to see Will knock the wind out of Sue by insulting her hairstyle. Sue is so shocked and hurt by the low-blow, she begins to assault and terrorize the students. Feeling bad for her, Kurt and Mercedes go and offer their make-over services to her, and in-exchange will be allowed to borrow the male Cheerios for their Madonna Project. Sue agrees, and together the three of them recreate Madonna's Vogue music video under the direction of Artie. Despite the new looks they offer Sue, she decides in the end she's better being herself, and that rather than change herself, she changes everyone else. Starting with Kurt and Mercedes. She then extends an invitation to them to join the Cheerios, doing musical performances to the cheerleading routines. Seeing as neither Kurt nor Mercedes have gotten solos under Will's Glee guidance, they accept and decide to do both Glee and Cheerios. Will is not pleased but accepts, and as if to make it up to them, gives them solos in Like a Prayer. In the episode "Home", Sue tells Mercedes that she must lose ten pounds and wear the female Cheerios uniform, though Mercedes tries to explain that it "doesn't fit her right," and she'd rather wear the pants. After fainting in the cafeteria and being told by the doctor she has low blood pressure, Quinn enters the room and assures Mercedes she went through the same thing. At the end of the episode, during a pep rally, Mercedes sings Beautiful, and most of the Cheerios and Glee Club members join her, thus proving to everyone that Mercedes is proud of herself. In "Bad Reputation", Mercedes is seen having a meeting with Kurt, Artie and Tina and Brittany (only because she stayed), telling how angry they were because they were not on the Glist. So they all try to get in trouble so they can be on the Glist. She is spotted dancing with Artie, Kurt, Tina and Brittany in the library, so they can see if they can try to be on the Glist. They perform U Can't Touch This. In Laryngitis, Puck feels he is at the bottom of the social heap and get's his eye on Mercedes who has all of the popularity. He decides to woo her and they have a duet of "Lady Is a Tramp". Mercedes has a brief fling with ]]Puck that doesn't set well with Santana and they angrily sing "The Boy Is Mine". She quits the Cheerios and breaks up with Puck after realizing she needs to be true to herself. In Funk, Mercedes makes fun of Quinn when their assignment is to come up with a funk number. Quinn proves her wrong and show's her funky side. Meanwhile, Mercedes performs Good Vibrations alongside Finn and Puck and realizes that Quinn does feel the ']] same as she has. Quinn apologizes to Mercedes, saying that Quinn will only be called names for nine months while Mercedes has had to deal with it her whole life. Mercedes replies, saying that Quinn is not angry, just hurt after being kicked out of her parents and Finn's house. Mercedes also offers for Quinn to come live with her as they have got a spare room after Mercedes' brother is at college. The entire glee club show rivals, Vocal Adrenaline, just what they've got ready for them at Regionals by performing "Give Up the Funk". In Journey, New Directions is at Will's house to discuss the set list for Regionals. They instead talk about what they loved in glee club after finding out that Sue is one of the judges. They perform a Journey medley at Regionals then Quinn's water breaks. The entire group (except Rachel) rush to the hospital. Quinn insists on Mercedes being in the delivery room and she bravely accepts, showing how much their relationship has developed. After losing, Mercedes and the rest of the glee club confess to Will how glee club has changed them and perform To Sir, With Love. They then celebrate and listen to Will and Puck perform Over The Rainbow after they learn they have got one more year of glee. Season Two In Audition, Mercedes says that New Directions is now a family, and the bullies can bring it all they want. When New Directions performs Empire State of Mind in front of everyone, she has a solo. Later,when Mercedes finds out that Rachel plans to scare Sunshine away from New Directions, she agrees with Kurt, that while they wouldn't like losing even more of what little spotlight she gets, she is more than willing to sacrifice it in return for a greater chance at winning Nationals. She enjoy's Sunshine's performance of Listen, and really likes it, but starts to hate Rachel after she sees that Sunshine is going to Vocal Adrenaline. ]] In Britney/Brittany, Mercedes performs backup vocals in Toxic, and in The Only Exception. During Grilled Cheesus, Mercedes dances to Puck's Only the Good Die Young. When Kurt's father becomes ill, she doesn't speak. But eventually, she tells everyone that whenever she has problems, she looks to Kurt as a friend. Kurt seems happy, and Mercedes sings I Look To You. Meanwhile, when Rachel is performing Papa, Can You Hear Me? Mercedes is listening, and tells Kurt that her,Quinn, and Rachel are from different religions and they can help. Kurt denies it. Later,Mercedes is seen crying during Kurt's performance of I Want To Hold Your Hand. Mercedes sees Kurt in ']]the hall and tells him that she doesn't know how to talk to him. She invites him to her church, but Kurt says that he doesn't want to go. But after Mercedes offers that Kurt can wear a "fabulous hat," Kurt laughs and offers to go. At church, Kurt is seen as a "sore thumb" compared to everyone else. Mercedes asks the entire church to pray for Burt, because Kurt needs it. When Mercedes performs Bridge Over Troubled Water, Kurt sits down, but a few women lift him up. Kurt is smiling. Mercedes performs a solo in One Of Us. During Duets, Kurt and Mercedes are sitting next to each other and Kurt knows that Sam is gay, but Mercedes denies it. But, when Will opens up a Duets competition, she initially is unenthusiastic until Santana convinces ']]her that if they team up for their duet, they would be, "The undisputed top *** at the school". Then, Santana and her perform River Deep - Mountain High, and they were confident they were going to win. Despite a fantastic performance, they lose the competition and Mercedes has to hold Santana back as she tries to grab the free dinner coupons from Will. In The Rocky Horror Glee Show, Mercedes was originally cast as Columbia, and performed in the background during Dammit Janet with Kurt and Quinn. ']]After Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?, Mercedes realized that the role of Frank-n-Furter was open, and inspired by the song 'Don't Dream it, Be it' asked to be Frank-n-Furter, because she really wanted a main role. She offered to modernize the song, and thus was cast and Frank-n-Furter. She performs Sweet Transvestite. She is also seen dancing in the Time Warp. In Never Been Kissed, Mercedes sings lead vocals in Start Me Up/Livin' On a Prayer. She also laughs during the Boy's mash-up as Kurt dances. In The Substitute, an outraged Mercedes rebels against Principal Sue when she finds out that tots are banned from the school lunch menu. Meanwhile, Kurt notices that Mercedes is feeling left out because of his new friendship with Blaine and starts to worry that Mercedes is using food as a substitute for love, and their friendship as a substittue for a relationship. He then tries to set up Mercedes with Anthony, a member of the football team, who Kurt is apparently on friendly terms with and who seems to find Mercedes attractive as he smiles at her and waves in greeting. At first Mercedes is hesitant, but eventually decides to give him a chance after Kurt confronts her about his concerns. In Furt, she performs in Marry You and Just the Way you are. Besides that, she doesn't really have lines till the end when she is the most upset about Kurt leaving. The episode ends with her and finn looking concerned. leaving New Directions.]] Friends & Enemies Kurt Hummel Kurt and Mercedes have been best friends since nearly Glee Club started, although at first their diva personalities put them in conflict. However they eventually bonded over their love of music and fashion. When Mercedes was told by Quinn Fabray and the other Cheerios to be Kurt's girlfriend. After he says that he is in love with Rachel (pretending, but actually loved Finn), causing Mercedes to throw a stone into the window of his car. After she apologized to him, Kurt tells her that he is gay, also saying that she is the first person he has ever told. Soon after, they become the best of friends. In 'The Power of Madonna', Kurt and Mercedes join the Cheerios, saying that they do not get enough solos in the glee club, and say they want to do both. Although, later Mercedes quits after being pressured to lose weight to stay on the team. In Grilled Cheesus, Mercedes and the rest of the Glee Group does their best to offer Kurt emotional and even spiritual support when his father suffers a heart attack. Although Kurt becomes angry at the Glee, he finally agrees to go with Mercedes to her church, where the congregation offers him more support, and she she sings "I Look To You" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" to him. In The Substitute, Kurt begins to neglect his friendship with Mercedes due to his new friendship with Blaine. As a result, Mercedes begins to become obsessed with fighting Sue Sylvester's anti-junk food law in the school. Kurt begins to grow concerned about her behavior, particularly after she damages Sue's car in an act of protest. And so Kurt attempts to help set her up with Anthony Rashad, one of the football players, who seems attracted to her. She initially says no to the idea, and Kurt later counters that she needs to stop using food as a replacement for love, and her friendship with Kurt as a relationship. She realizes he's right and agrees to go meet with Anthony. In Furt, Mercedes does her best to support Kurt who is being bullied by Dave Karofsky, and is later shocked when Kurt admits that he must transfer to Dalton Academy, due to the continued abuse from Karoksky. She and Finn seem to be the most shocked and hurt by this news, with Mercedes pleading with him to not leave. Artie Abrams Artie and Mercedes became friends when they joined New Directions. Mercedes and Artie have most of the Solo part in Proud Mary in Wheels. Tina Cohen-Chang Mercedes and Tina became friends when they joined New Directions. Quinn Fabray Mercedes and Quinn had a close friendship since the episode Home, in which Quinn tried to warn Mercedes against starving herself to be on the Cheerios, and offers her support. Later Mercedes lets Quinn stay at her house since Quinn's parents kicked her out and while Mercedes' brother was going to college. In Journey, when Quinn goes into labor with her baby, she asked Mercedes go in with her and Puck into the delievery room. Later, Mercedes, Quinn, and Kurt held hands together. Noah Puckerman It is assumed they became friends because of their performance on Funk singing "Good Vibrations with Finn Hudson. But in Laryngitis, Mercedes agrees to date Puck after his advances. Santana Lopez Santana was Mercedes' enemy because she dated Puck. They started fighting and sang "The Boy Is Mine" and started to get physical. But after Mercedes broke up with Puck, Santana and Mercedes seem alright. In season 2 fourth episode Duets, Santana is determined to win dinner at Breadstix. She pairs up with Mercedes to sing "River Deep, Mountain High" believing that they had the best voices in glee club despite not getting along and sneaking unwanted things in her food when Mercedes isn't looking. By the end of the performance, it's hinted that they've bonded. When they lose the competition, Santana is very distraught and Mercedes is seen holding her back and comforting her. Sue Sylvester Sue Sylvester and Mercedes aren't really close friends but not enemies. Even though Sue still wants to trash the Glee Club, Kurt and Mercedes helped her with her hair after a joke about her hair from Mr. Schuester so they directed a video of Vogue with her. Sue Sylvester decided to let Kurt and Mercedes be in the Cheerios. Sue told Mercedes that she had to lose 10 pounds or else she would be kicked out of the Cheerios. When Puck was only dating Mercedes when she was in Cheerios and she was popular, Mercedes decided to quit the cheerios, stating that she just wasn't herself when she was in uniform Personality and Traits Mercedes has a confident and sometimes pushy personality. She is more than willing to be aggressive and speak her mind, unafraid of how others will take it. If provoked to true anger, she has demonstrated the ability to be violent, as demonstrated when she broke the window to Kurt's car, upon realizing that he had feelings for someone else. However, despite her strong street-like attitude, there is no denying that she is extremely a sensitive young girl, who wants to love and be loved (though never is). Furthermore, Mercedes is unquestionably supportive of those around her, more than willing to give someone a shoulder to cry on and a helping hand such as when Kurt came out, and when Quinn was thrown out of her house for her pregnancy. However, despite her big heart, she is very lonely, and at one point found herself fixating on food as a means to deal with that loneliness. She was confronted about this by Kurt, who set her up with one of the football players in the hopes of helping her deal with this issue. Mercedes love tater tots, to the point of building a crusade against Sue when they were banned. Her best assets are her self-designed clothes and her powerful voice. Love Interests Kurt Hummel Main article: Mercedes-Kurt Relationship' Although at first it appeared that Mercedes and Kurt disliked each other, they soon found a connection in their mutual love of fashion and music. In Acafellas, Kurt and Mercedes' friendship progresses with Kurt offering Mercedes a friend to lean on when she finds herself feeling depressed over not having a significant other to call her own. Hoping to cause drama amongst the Glee kids, the cheerleaders lead Mercedes to believe that Kurt has feelings for her, leaving her hurt (and violent as she destroys the windshield of his car) when he rejects her advances. He later confesses to her that he is gay, which is not all together surprising to her, as she had thought that was the case before the cheerleaders manipulated her. The two manage to repair their friendship, with Mercedes offering Kurt her friendship and support for when he finally did come out officially. Mercedes and Kurt are now best friends and support each other in everything. Noah Puckerman Main article: Mercedes-Puck Relationship In "Laryngitis", Puck and Mercedes start dating, but Puck is only using her to be popular after he shaved his mohawk off. Santana becomes very jealous and angry at Mercedes. Mercedes breaks up with him after seeing him throwing "dweebs" in the dumpster. They sang "Lady Is a Tramp" together. Anthony Rashad In The Substitute, Kurt's new friendship with Blaine begins to take up more of his time, and he grows concerned that Mercedes is feeling left out. He then attempts to set her up with Anthony, a member of the football team who he seems to be on good terms with. Anthony seems interested in Mercedes as when she looks in his direction, he smiles and waves in greeting. Mercedes is initially reluctant to talk to him, but after Kurt voices his concerns about her recent behavior regarding tatter-tots, Mercedes decides to take a chance and goes to talk to Anthony. Their current relationship status is currently unknown. Songs Solos Season One *Bust Your Windows (Acafellas) *Don't Make Me Over (Hairography) *And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going (Sectionals) *Beautiful (Home) Season Two *I Look To You (Grilled Cheesus) *Bridge Over Troubled Water (Grilled Cheesus) *Sweet Transvestite (The Rocky Horror Glee Show) *Angels We Have Heard On High (Not Used In A Very Glee Christmas) Solos (In A Duet) Season One *4 Minutes (Kurt) (The Power Of Madonna) *The Lady Is a Tramp (Puck) (Laryngitis) *The Boy Is Mine (Santana) (Laryngitis) Season Two *River Deep - Mountain High (Santana) (Duets) Solos (In A Group Number) Season One *Gold Digger (Showmance) *Push It (Showmance) *Somebody to Love (The Rhodes Not Taken) *Halo/Walking on Sunshine (Vitamin D) *Hate on Me (Throwdown) *Proud Mary (Wheels) *Lean on Me (Ballad) *Hair/Crazy in Love (Hairography) *Imagine (Hairography) *Jump (Mattress) *Smile (Charlie Chaplin) (Mattress) *You Can't Always Get What You Want (Sectionals) *Hello Goodbye (Hell-O) *Express Yourself (The Power Of Madonna) *Like a Prayer (The Power Of Madonna) *One (Laryngitis) *Bad Romance (Theatricality) *Good Vibrations (Funk) *Give Up the Funk (Funk) *Any Way You Want It/Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' (Journey) *Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version) (Journey) *To Sir, With Love (Journey) Season Two ﻿ *Empire State of Mind (Audition) *One of Us (Grilled Cheesus) *The Time Warp (The Rocky Horror Glee Show) *Start Me Up/Livin' On a Prayer (Never Been Kissed) *Forget You (The Substitute) *(I've Had) The Time of My Life (Special Education) *Dog Days Are Over (Special Education) *We Need a Little Christmas (A Very Glee Christmas) *Deck the Rooftop (Not Used In A Very Glee Christmas) *God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (Not Used In A Very Glee Christmas) Quotations ''Main Article: Mercedes' Quotations '' Category:Characters Category:Main characters Category:William McKinley High School Students Category:Images of Mercedes Jones Category:African American Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Noah Puckerman Category:Kurt Hummel Category:Amber Riley Category:Former Cheerio Category:Singers Category:Backup singers Category:4 Minutes Category:Hate On Me Category:Bust Your Windows Category:Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna Category:The Power of Madonna Category:Somebody To Love Category:Beautiful Category:And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going Category:Holly Holliday Category:Holly Holiday